GHOST (The Shadow in the Dark)

Part Twenty Five

I shook as I asked the most important question, a question I did not want the answer.
"Why are you around me?"
"We got an Intel of the file and we were also informed that the witness which is you, is in danger after the wife of your father's employee was murdered on her way back from the police station after making a report of her discovery. The information came from one of us but not exactly my unit. I was sent to be your bodyguard and get the file because we believe many high ranked police officers will be implicated."
"And those you killed, the ones the DPO said were on undercover?"
"They are top assassins, first they were to get the file from you but now they have just one instruction."
"Which is?"
"Shoot to kill and my mission is to shoot anyone who will try to shoot you."
I started feeling headache.
"No no, it's not possible. The DPO will never harm me."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because he is from my tribe."
"There is one thing you should know Ella. I am not trying to convince you I'm the good guy because it makes it look like I'm lying. I work with truth and facts. I don't care what the DPO told you, I won't convince you he has been lying to you. You must listen to your inner mind and find out the truth for yourself."
"Then why are you telling me, if you are not trying to win me over."
"You asked and I answered and whether you believe me or not, I am going to keep you safe and make sure you look at the file yourself when you find it."
"So you are saying the DPO wants me dead because he will not be able to get hold of the file which may implicate him."
"I am saying, I am Ghost a member of The Circle, the best of the Special Force Unit. Mission is to protect Emmanuella Omakor and to make sure the file does not get into the wrong hands. But everything changed the moment I fell in love with you, now all bets are off because it's now personal."
"He can't harm me, you must be mistaken."
I just did not want to believe the DPO would want to harm me.
"Emmanuella relax, don't think too much, you can continue to believe he is the good guy. I will do the other thinking for you" he whispered to me ears sending flames to my body.
"You know you just compromised your mission?" I asked after staring at the waterfall for a long time.
"How?"
"You told me about your unit."
"I never said I am a secret service on an undercover mission. There is nothing secret about my unit. It's an open secret and I don't care if you tell him, like I said you already did. He knows or has an idea about a Special unit in the special force and he knows he is running out of time."
"I am not going to ask him, I..."
"Sssh it's okay Emmanuella, stop panicking."
I turned to look at him.
"I thought we've settled on the name calling."
"I don't like calling you Ella, I prefer Emmanuella. There are too many names with Ella as the short form. I don't want to take away Ibrahim from your memory. In fact the best way to forget is to remember."
"I don't understand."
He kissed my hair and pulled me closer.
"Tell me about Ibrahim."
"Why do you want to know?"
"It looks like your memory about life was all about him. I want to know about your life with him, about your grandma. I want to know more about you."
But the closeness was distracting me. I was beginning to feel heat and fire.
"Don't worry, I can hold it, I still have one bar left."
"Stop getting into my head."
"I wish" His voice was too close to my ear and it was making me pant. I really needed something to distract me before I did something stupid.
"Ibrahim once told my grandma he was going to marry me when I grow up."
"How much did you know about marriage then?"
"Not much, just knew that if he married me, I will live with him forever."
"What did your grandma say?"
"She told him the story of Jacob, how he worked seven years for Rachel but got Leah, then had to work another seven years to get Rachel. Ibrahim told Grandma that fourteen years was even too small to work for me. He asked Grandma to give him work, that he will add two years to make it sixteen years. Grandma just laughed and told him she will think about it. I later went to meet Grandma, I told her to say yes because I wanted to live forever with Ibrahim. When Ibrahim got me my teddy bear, I gave him my hand bead. It belonged to my late mum. Her family had disowned her when she got pregnant and she had lived with Grandma till she delivered. She was the major reason Grandma went to the North. My dad ran away the day she gave birth after hearing she died as a result of complications. Grandma had to send her corpse home but she was rejected and she had to bury her at the village cemetery where they bury strangers. My dad had later constructed a house around her grave. Her family came for me when I was twelve. They had lost their only son and last child. But my dad arrested them and sued them to court for attempted kidnapping. After much pleadings, he dropped the case after they promised to never come near me. I was in support of my dad, I also did not want anything to do with them. They later moved out of Ozoro. I miss them so much, my dad treasured me, my Grandma was my beacon.."
"I'm sorry for your lose. So sorry."
He kissed my hair and wiped away the tears flowing from my eyes.
"Can I ask something?" I asked after some time.
"Okay."
"Did you ever say something like first of her kind and twins and garden, swimming pool?"
"So you heard me."
"So you mentioned that? I thought I was dreaming. What did you mean by first of her kind?"
"That I cannot answer Ella, not now Ella, until the file is found. I will take you to my extended family they can't wait to meet you."
"Should I be surprised they know about me?"
He did not answer.
"What if I don't want you after I find the file?"
He did not answer.
"Are you sleeping?"
No answer.
I raised my head to look at him. He was staring at me.
"What?"
"You are a dream I never dared to dream about and I cannot believe I'm holding you in my arms. You make me believe in the impossible Emmanuella."
"How did you jump from what we have been discussing?"
No answer, just stared at me.
"And stop calling me Emmanuella, I don't like it."
"I like the way it sounds."
Ibrahim had said the same thing. I had given up correcting him after so many failed attempts to convince him to just call me Ella.
"Please Ghost, it brings up so many memories I don't want to remember."
"Tell me about them."
I was staring at his lips and it was pulling my lips towards it. I turned and rested my head on his chest. I wondered how far I could hold out.
"You are the closest I have ever been with a male but I was like this with Ibrahim during my age of innocence?"
"How?"
"Ibrahim used to sleep on the parlor floor which was actually my grandma's store while I slept with Grandma in her room but I always sneaked out once Grandma started snoring. I would join Ibrahim on the mat. He always said the mat was too strong for my body so he would rest on the wall and I always sat in between his legs and I would sleep off on his chest. Grandma would shout and complain that I was disturbing Ibrahim but I never stopped. Some days, he would tell me different stories till I sleep off...."
I was not allowed to finish my story because he bent his head and covered my lips with his and I surrendered to the flame. His kiss was deep and it felt like he was touching my heart because I felt it there. I wanted more, I turned and placed my hands on his chest but he stopped and turned me back.
"This is torture, Ella we need to find that file, I don't know how long I can hold off keeping my hands off you."
His voice was very husky and he was breathing fast. He gently pulled me away from him and jumped down from the swing. He walked round the place avoiding getting splashed by the water. He was not just the only one, I was burning and I wanted the heat to burn out, if it had only been my will I would have broken my promise to Grandma. He was too gentlemanlike to be an assassin. Just the thought that he might be right was making me panic. I would be heartbroken if the DPO really wanted me dead, yet I also wanted him to be the person he told me he was. My life couldn't be more complicated. He said he would show me his face and take me to his family once the file had been found and there was the issue of the burning feeling. The deal I made with Grandma was to remain a virgin till I got married.
"A penny for your thought."
He climbed back on the swing and pulled me back to him. I closed my eyes ashamed of what I was thinking, there was no way I was going to tell him.
"You are seriously blushing, are you thinking dirty."
"No I am not" I answered immediately.
"Then tell me."
"Nice try. I don't want to."
But I really wanted to know.
"Please, I promise not to be judgmental."
I closed my eyes.
"What happens after I meet your family?"
"Marriage."
He said it like he did not understand my question. I turned to look at him.
"That's the only way I can make love to you."
"You think marriage is all about sex?"
"I think now is not a good time to discuss about sex. Let's eat."
That was the first time I was agreeing with him hundred percent. I could literally smell the tension in the air.
He brought out a flask from his bag.
"Is it yam porridge?"
"You really liked the last one. That is the only food he can cook."
"Who?"
"Beast."
At first I thought he was calling me a beast but then I remembered his abnormal family.
"Because he acts like a beast?"
"You got it."
I did not wait for him to permit me before I started eating. I even took the spoon from his hands. It was just so delicious.
"Isn't that too harsh a name?"
I asked in between mouth full. He did not answer, I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me. It sent heat waves to my stomach.
"The name symbolizes king of the beast, that's the lion."
He started eating and I was now the one staring at his lips.
"Eat Emmanuella."
That name again, I refused to be pissed off and ate.
"You want to get under the fall before we leave?"
He was already down and had his hands outstretched to lift me down. I let him pull me down but did not pull away from him. The tension was just so much. He bent his head and I knew I would not be able to resist. He raised his head almost when his lips was about to touch mine. He pulled me to his chest. As I inhaled that powerful masculine scent, I wondered if the place was open for tourist to come anytime they want without a guard or ticket. There was no sign of any human other than us. Who knew what he had done to make that possible.
"How on earth did Jason survive four years without exploding?"
I raised my head to look at him.
"Who is Jason?"
He did not answer, but bent down and picked a heavy stone. Before I could ask him what he wanted to do with the stone, he sent it flying towards a bird close to us. The bird was able to dodge it to my relief. But it flew high and disappeared from sight.
"What the heck was that for? Why stoning the innocent bird? Are you allergic to nature?" I shouted.
He did not answer but pulled me close to the waterfall. I felt elated as we got drenched while he spun me like we were dancing.
He stopped spinning me and pressed something on his wristwatch, one of my favorite wish song 'Forever and for Always' by Shania Twain started playing. I used to play it wishing Ibrahim was still alive and wishing I was married to him.
"How did you know I love this song?" I screamed in excitement.
"You always play this song. I will ask why later. But can I?"
He stretched his hand and I grabbed it almost immediately. There was no way I was not dreaming, it was too good to be real. I laughed, cried, danced and allowed him wrap me in him from behind heating me up with his masculine heat amidst the cold waterfall splashing on us.
"I am going to keep you forever Ella" he whispered to my ears after the music had played thrice.
He switched to 'When you kiss me.' He was really following on what I was playing on my phone. He was exploiting all my fantasies of what I would have done with Ibrahim. He just held me close and moved sideways according to the tune of the music. I relaxed my head on his chest and closed my eyes. Anytime the singer mentioned kiss me, he kissed my hair, sometimes my cheek.
I had never felt so happy in a long time but my happiness ended immediately he told me his brother was waiting to fly us back to Benin. And it was one hell of a flight in which I barely survived. And just before we left the helicopter his brother called me.
"I hope you had a fun ride with me? I am at your service anytime. Just tell Ghost to contact me."
I wished I knew how my face looked like because Ghost was laughing so hard.
As I entered my room by 5:23AM, my clothes not completely dried, I got a message from the DPO.
'Don't forget he is dangerous and a top assassin. I'm working on getting his identity but he is popular and always known to do anything to get the job done, don't fall for any of his tricks. Make sure he doesn't get the file. Take care of yourself for me.'